Any STEM anons on currently?

So much this. You can easily make 2-5x more with a trade than you can with a PhD in STEM.

Shit, your reply was amazing!
>There's some pretty big stuff coming in fields like neuroscience, genetic engineering, cybernetics, and genetic medicine/stem cell medicine. Some of this stuff will have colossal, society-altering effects down the line.
what you listed greatly interests me, but I fear the road necessary and the mindset necessary to reach those levels is greatly difficult.
I'm someone who didn't realize they had a passion for curiosity in tech/science until 4-5 years ago, so the idea of getting the base information necessary to waltz into a specific college course is not possible.
Would you say it would be possible/worth it to build myself a base on necessary information, then go into specific courses necessary to reach said goals??

which is a reason i brought up the technological aspect to the question.

If the science side of these emerging fields is "feces" then the tech side should be better.
I already have a base understanding of programming (nothing job worthy yet, just self made web sites and some projects on the side) so i have a toe in the door, already.

I used to be like you. I had a very deep passion for science. Then I lost it when all I could find was $10/hr jobs.

I no longer care about advancing society or this shit-tier species anymore. Now all that matters if getting a decent job, making decent money, and ignoring everyone else to the best of my ability while I stay home for the most time I can and enjoy my life.

Trust me, you'll stop loving science after the 6th straight month of not knowing what you're going to eat that night. It will fade.

Pick a job that pays well, don't fuck with stupid shit that will leave you poor forever. Consider the debt. Science is EXTREMELY overrated. I wish I could go back in time and save myself from that mistake. I would've told myself to become an electrician or something instead.

Programming is not a safe bet by itself, but certainly computer science seems to offer a better day-to-day life than any science does. Consider what will be outsourced and what won't. English is still the main language. There's only so much an Indian code monkey can do.

I hear software development is good, and I'm going back to school for computer science while I'm still somewhat young. It doesn't erase the lost years and money studying biology.

Demand for software analysis and programmers seems to be going up, but you better pick your niche wisely. You don't want to be replaced by some Indian working for 50 cents an hour.

Go for electrical engineering. It's a very broad field that I chose because I had no idea what I wanted for a career. If you can maintain a 3.0 GPA and maybe get an internship, your life after graduation will be relatively easy.

Physics is actually very rewarding financially, as long as your degree doesn't say "physics" on it.

All of the engineering disciplines are really just in-depth applied physics. Courses like statics are just a very detailed chapter of a physics textbook.

Mathematics, statistics, and computer science also make a lot of money, but you have to be more cautious about how you're going to apply them, and a little more proactive. E.g. look into operations research or industrial engineering if you want to major in math, start putting together a portfolio if doing CS, etc.

Then there's the two different types of people doing biology and chemistry - premeds and graduate school hopefuls. Half the premeds won't get in (but those who do will reap the reward), and the PhD students are eternally poor. Biomedical engineering also falls under this umbrella, which is unfortunate because it's cool as fuck.

There's some pretty good interdisciplinary engineering-ish degrees too, like material science, polymers, data science, etc.

To figure out where you stand on all this, use MIT OpenCourseWare and other MOOCs extensively. Fiddle around until you find something that's a lot of fun to you. Try things like Project Euler and FRC.

This is the most accurate post I've ever seen regarding college.

The only thing you missed out is that Liberal Arts are garbage and should be phased out, with the exception of non-SJW Psychologists, Sociologists, Historians and the like.

This is why you generally shouldn't go to graduate school. Science as an engineer, pre-med, or CS major is pretty dope.

I've worked in the tech industry for at least 30 years and one problem keeps arising and creating a BIG mess.

"Non-technical people are making technical decisions"

These are typically managers who manage who over-ride decision making.

That is the biggest problem I've seen to date.

Yeah. Most universities shouldn't offer them as a major without some sort of pre-professional requirement. Especially considering how biased the liberal arts fields are towards ivy grads. Podunk State history majors are cannon fodder.

People should definitely not major in liberal arts, unless they have some sort of plan for it (e.g. med school, or those philosophy majors who go into CS).

They make for fantastic minors, though.

redpill me anons, planning to double major comp engy / physics, is it worth?

I'm the fucked bio major here.

Do you have any advice going back to school for computer science? I will never touch another science again. I was trying to get into med school but I couldn't because my loans were maxed out and I was considered a dependent student so I couldn't even afford the final year of college. Now that I'm in a new state I can use a new state's loan limits but I'll be damned if I do my previous degree again.

Also I disagree with what you say about doctors who reap the reward. More often than not they don't, especially after Obamacare. Only anasthesiologists, pharmacists, and other specific types of doctors reap the rewards. Most others are either paid too little to support their debt or work so many fucking hours that it's pointless how much money they make if they can't bother spending it until retirement at 70+.

No focus on either comp sci or engineering. Not both. Maybe minor in one IF it doesn't prolong your college stay. Idea should be to get in, get degree, get out. An etra semester isn't worth it and it won't make you more competitive int he job market.

Physics is shit tier. As are all sciences, don't bother.

How stupid are you?

Look up pay for petroleum engineer. If OP has an interest in chemistry and money that's his golden ticket.

That's engineering stupid. Not a science.

>Not knowing what STEM stands for

You really are fucking retarded.

Physics grad student here.

There is no easy way. There are some accessible videos on the internet (e.g., Khan Academy, Crash Course on YouTube) but they are very basic and barely scratch the surface. If you want to learn "as a college student would" you will have to pour over endless amounts of books and solve the problems in those books.

I've once heard a Nobel Prize laureate (Bill Phillips) put it very well on a lecture for physicists at the beginning of their careers (but it applies to all science):
>If you don't give it 12 hours a day, you are not taking it seriously.

Was talking about sciences specifically.

>All that for 45k a year.

What a great career choice!!

"Any STEM anons on currently?
I had a question regarding curiosity and the ability to learn the basics, like: Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Engineering, etc."

So basically ignoring OPs question and using your own parameters to answer the question.

Yes you're still that fucking stupid.

Very few people are doing science for money.

Republicans don't understand this.

Everyone on here saying pick up a trade is pretty much spot on. Electricians, plumbers, hell even truck drivers can make more than your average engineer or scientist without the stress or bullshit that comes with those degreed positions. Business majors can do well also If they can keep their shit together.

I have an engineering degree and got out of the field as soon as I realized what was considered "successful" in that field. Went back to college and revamped myself with more business classes to a second bachelor's. Best move of my life. Now the engineers I used to work under come to me begging for more money to pursue their bullshit projects. I love the look on their face when they realize I'm gonna say no before they're even finished talking.

i am stem as fuck. whats ur question

I'm kind of doing the same thing you did. But I'm going back to school for computer science after doing biology the first time.

Is that a smart move?

Enjoy your rented efficiency apartment and TV dinners. Some people are just more ambitious.

OP, assuming you're a high school student, the best thing you can do is get into a cheap and well-respected engineering school.

Top schools like MIT are fucking fantastic (I'm going to one), but they fucking bury you in schoolwork and loans. Be sure you want that trade-off. You can get a job from any university.

Apply to your state schools, and to places that give huge GPA/SAT scholarships like University of Alabama. See if your state has any tuition agreements with other states.

Apply as an engineering major and go from there. All the engineering pathways are the same for the first one or two years, and you'll figure out what you want to do pretty quickly once you start taking the classes.

That's true, Obamacare kind of killed the medical profession.

Check out community colleges in your area, and sign up for an evening compsci class. If you like it, check out your state school's requirements for a BS in computer science, and start slowly taking your prereqs. This is going to be stuff like calculus, physics, and sometimes basic chem (which you've probably already done).

Also, do some hobby programming on the side. Take a look at Project Euler and see if you can get involved in an open source project (it's easier than you'd think ;)

Once you get your associates, you kind of have two options. You can put a portfolio together and start applying for programming jobs, or you can go to your state school and knock out the rest of your degree. I'd recommend the second option if you can spare the money. See if you can get an internship to help pay the cost.

Also, keep your chin up. There's tons of veterans and non-traditional students going back to school. Programming is a lot of fun, and the pay is pretty great. You won't regret it.

Being a slave to money isn't ambition.

Enjoy your wage slavery.

Being a slave to poverty isn't either.

I wouldn't call working 15 hours a week for 70k+ a year being a slave of any kind. And yet that is the reality for many software devs.

Adding on to this, definitely check out the trades, but if you're a science and math kind of guy it's probably not going to be your cup of tea.

Check out things like Construction Management if the trades model appeals to you.

Anything is better than bio unless you're gonna do med school.

Computer science will always help you get a foot in the door somewhere. Especially with all the "big data" shit going on now. If you learn to manipulate databases to help marketting better target specific potential customers, there will always be a job.

Potential pitfall: You will always be answering to at least an MBA somwhere up the chaim and never really be in control of your own destiny. That's why I chose to go the business route.

I've done software dev, so I can say for a fact you're a liar. But keep believing whatever ITT told you.

Petroleum engineering is a really rough business to be in. A lot of those high-rollers don't have jobs anymore, and the ones who do don't see their kids often.

the worst thing about working in the trades or construction are the big manly man losers you have to spend most of your day around. Instead of going to work, doing your job, and punching out, you have to do all this retarded high school-tier fitting in. Or you get blamed when something goes wrong. Not to mention the insane amount of nepotism. There's a reason there's 5000 home improvement companies per square mile. Because if you work for someone else, they WILL screw you. Or promote their son instead of you.

Maybe it's time to lay off the Big Bong Theory, bro.

For someone just getting into the field it's great. Friend of mines daughter just graduated college and that was her first job. She's making $130K a year and her apartment is paid for by the company.

I know guys who did chemistry and work as fucking baristas right now. For 2 years.

You really shouldn't be giving this shit tier advice to impressionable people.

>Potential pitfall: You will always be answering to at least an MBA somwhere up the chaim and never really be in control of your own destiny. That's why I chose to go the business route.

Honestly, I am done working for someone else. I plan to start my own side business during college while I study comp sci. Something online once I learn to program better. And if you make the kind of money a programmer makes, you can probably do an online course from a state school for an MBA. It won't say online on your degree so nobody will ever know.

triviumeducation.com when You get this everything will be open to Your Knowing.

I honestly don't know too much about it, so I was wrong to generalize. My impression is that it's like aerospace or civil engineering. Employment tends to fluctuate with the economy.

I suppose talented and hardworking people might not have to deal with that, though.

Highschool fag here. I want to get in to video game design on the coding side. Do i go for a game studies program where i learn design and programming or do i just major in compSci and build a gaming portfolio on the side?

comp sci with gaming portfolio.

Video game design will be extremely dumbed down with design and writing courses. Prepare for a lot of math with comp sci, and a lot of lib arts with video game design.

replace talented/hardworking with lucky.

STAY AWAY FROM VIDEO GAMES

That is probably the worst thing for your future that you can do with a compsci degree, other than putting it through a shredder.

The industry pays shit and there is no job security.

You will NEVER build anything cooler than the Blackbird

If you like video games, write driver firmware for graphics cards and APUs. They'll probably do you better than video game design, and make you look more serious too.

No, you'll only use one of the degrees. Also, CompE is a relatively small part of the engineering industry, and some schools are phasing it out.

If you really like physics that much, you should find a different engineering major. Electrical engineering is good if you like electricity and signals, and you could still take the electronics pathway if you wanted to. Mechanical engineering is paradise for the nerds that actually enjoy Newtonian physics. Something like material science with a focus on electronic materials is good if you want to take quantum physics and optics classes.

You can walk out of University with a B.S. and make 80-120K in oil & gas.

Obtaining a master's (after you get some experience) will move you up in pay. PhD will make you "overqualified" for pretty much everything except for teaching and research (where pay is absolute shit).

You wanna make the most money? Stop at a master's.

>oil and gas
assuming that will be worth anything in 15 years

How about food science? Seems like an up+coming industry

So many bad and false opinions here.

All STEM majors can be interesting; however, not all of them will pay well.

For anything NOT engineering or technology, good luck finding a job. You'll need to be top of your class to be even considered for a job or a research position, unless you can sweet talk your professor for letting you in (even then, grades will matter). I know a shit load of people who took chemistry, biology, physics that have been 3-4 years out of grad and can't find a job in their field. It doesn't help that their grades weren't top, but it also doesnt help that you're competing for a handful of jobs against a boatload of applicants, whom most have a post-graduate degree or experience of some sort.

E and T majors typically offer a much better prospect for a career, since a lot of the things you will be expected to do will be application based and not research. If you want a rewarding career with scientific background, you should only be considering T and E majors. Cruise through university with a 3.0 GPA and get some related work experience and you're pretty much set for life.

Think about it this way. You only need 1 Isaac Newton; however, you need a lot of engineers and technologists to apply their research into something useful for mankind.

Source: me. 6 figure salary, engineer, 3 years out of school.

In the general science category i would recommend geology. It incorporates chemistry and physics, can be studied anywhere in the world, you can make good money, etc. Plus it's fucking interesting. If i could have a college do-over would pick this hands down.

Same user - to make it more STEM look at mining engineering, Colorado School of Mines, etc. Going in mines is also fucking interesting.

Addendum.

1. Unless you're willing to work hard and are really smart (aka 4.0 GPA student + extra-curriculars) don't even bother going into med school. I like to call it the dream crusher route in school. Out of the 10 people who wanted to go to med school (all smart with high grades) only 1 of them got in. It's a huge fucking risk. Only try this if you have really good connections and spare money to throw around.

2. What's the difference between a chemist and a chemical engineer? About 70k a year. People joke about this, but its actually true.

3. An undergrad in physics is fucking entry level anyway. You're learning things that have been proven or have been known for the last 50 years. You're not some super special person for being able to get into this major, or even graduating from it. This also applies for biology and chemistry. Honestly, these majors are fucking overrated as shit. Most of the people I know in these programs aren't the smartest people from school at all. Philosophy is probably much more difficult than this shit.

4. People are always gonna tell you to do what's interesting in school. Fuck them. They say this because back in that day it was easier to get a job in an unrelated field with a shit degree like liberal arts. Nowadays, shit has changed. Believe it or not, but people WILL judge you for what you study in school (just fucking lurk around /sci/ once in a while. Lots of condescending STEM grads, and the industry is no different)

What the above anons said. If you get into chemistry/engineering, try and get a job in the oil/gas industry. That shit's not going anywhere anytime soon.

Otherwise, if you're good with programming or interested in security/infrastructure, go for some IT classes, get your CCNA or learn some shit like powershell or C++ to get your foot in the door. IT jobs are only going to fucking grow. Even something like help-desk will pay you a decent chunk of change if you're good at it and work for the right company.

Biology is unpredictable. Physics is hit or miss as well.

Pro tip:
If you can't decide, which field is the most interesting, choose mechatronics. It combines pretty much everything.

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